Indie-pop band the Shins have released three critically acclaimed albums.
New Mexico band Flake (or Flake Music) became the Shins in 1999 and released two singles, which earned them a support slot with Modest Mouse. They were spotted on this tour by Sub Pop, who signed them and launched their debut album, Oh! Inverted World in 2001. It was met with enthusiastic reviews from the indie-rock press.
Their follow-up, 2003's Chutes Too Narrow, was even better, being widely considered one of the best records of the year. In 2004, the band received a boost in publicity when their music featured prominently in the Zach Braff film Garden State - one character even directly referred to the band, recommending a song to another character and telling them "it'll change your life".
Third album Wincing the Night Away was released in January 2007, to more positive reviews. It was also a commercial success, selling over 100,000 copies in its first week and reaching No.2 in the Billboard charts. That made it the highest-charting album in Sub Pop's history.
